Church History: Chapter 15 Part 2– St. Augustine
Augustine’s book, ‘Confessions’ could be considered an autobiography of sorts. This lesson focuses more the core principles of his theology. On good and evil, he says that only God is perfect. When God created us, He stated, it was “good” not perfect. God made good and when that good is corrupted, it becomes what we call “evil.” Pure evil is what is left when all good is stripped from something or someone. On the Church sacraments, Augustine argued that the power of the sacraments (baptism and the Lord’s Supper) was in the elements themselves, not the priest administering the elements. The meaning of the sacrament was that God met man there, not that the priest brought God and man together. On grace and free will, If we were to ask Augustine why some people are saved and why others are left to hell’s condemnation, Augustine would ultimately refer to the mystery and secrets of God that we do not know or understand. These were what he called God’s “hidden determinations.”
Key Words
Manichaeism, Neo-Platonic Greek philosophy, perfect, good, evil, grace, free will, sacraments, measure, modus, ‘mystery of iniquity’, Ostia, Donatism, Moreschini, Norelli, Bishop, Valerius, Hippo, Annaba, Algeria, Pelagius, “original sin”, “hidden determinations”, “The Predestination of the Saints,”
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